Craftsman Curio Cabinet

What sets this curio cabinet apart from other Craftsman projects I’ve built is clear — it’s the glass. To allow you to see what’s stored inside, this cabinet has beveled glass panels in the doors and on each end. Even the shelves are made out of glass so you can see clearly from top to bottom. Glass doesn’t make a project any harder to build. But large panels of glass are heavy, and I wanted to be sure these had plenty of support. This meant building strong, sturdy frames. Nothing tricky, just traditional mortise and tenon joinery to connect the frames. And a simple rabbet to hold the glass. Once the four case frames are complete, they have to be assembled into a single unit. Here, I tried a “new” technique to hide the joint lines between the frames. I cut deep rabbets in the front and back frames to hold the ends. Then to camouflage the joint line, a chamfer is routed down the edge. It’s a small detail and one only a woodworker would notice. But it’s another feature that makes this curio cabinet as worthy of attention as the display items inside.